Chapter Four

 

Julie's wedding was held outside on the property, the guest list held 500 names, half from Cade's family and friends, and half from Julie's. Kellie was so excited about being a bridesmaid and walking down the aisle with Aiden, her new friend. Aiden was twelve, a little older, and the first boy Kellie had ever liked that much. He was in her class and Kellie would come home talking about him every day. So he was not only invited for the wedding, but at Kellie's insistence invited to be in the wedding. After all, he'd been to the ranch on numerous occasions already to ride with Kellie.

Kellie was beaming that beautiful morning as she checked on the flowers that covered the beautiful archway where her parents would take their vows. Almost eleven now, she wanted to make sure everything was perfect for this day.

"So were the flowers alright?" Letty asked her as she bounced up the stairs.

"They are perfect. The cake's arriving soon. Daddy's folks are coming and a lot of his friends. Which means half the town will be here."

"Your father is a popular man in these parts." Letty smiled at Kellie. "And I would say that was partly because he knows how to handle his men fairly, and is an all-around good guy, wouldn't you?"

"Most definitely. I know everyone likes him. He used to go into town a lot and spend time talking to people, he says. Mom's friends from work are coming, too; I'll know a lot of them. This is going to be one of the best days of my life," Kellie explained with a huge smile on her face.

"Yes darling, it is. I'm so happy for all of you," Letty cried, grabbing Kellie for a hug.

"I'm just glad Grandpa made us come back here. I know he's watching and smiling too. I've seen a lot of pictures of him lately and I can just imagine him smiling." Kellie looked into Letty's eyes. "I wonder if he knew this would happen?"

"That's an interesting thought, isn't it? I'm sure he's watching too," Letty said and moved away to brush a tear from her eye.

"You miss him a lot, don't you Aunt Letty?" Kellie asked, following her into her room.

"I didn't know it showed so much…" Letty wiped at her eye.

"So does Mom. I catch her crying every now and then, and I know it's Grandpa she's crying about. But I think he's very happy today."

Letty smiled at her. "Is your dress pressed? If not, I can press it when I do mine." Letty tried to change the subject. Talking about her father had become somewhat painful and this was a good day; she wouldn't spend it crying.

Kellie nodded. "Thanks…"

"Okay, it'll be in here when you want to change." Letty let her know as she set up the ironing board.

"I love you, Aunt Letty," Kellie cried and went to hug her again. "Thanks for helping Mom get this set up."

"What are sisters for?" Letty smiled.

Moved by Kellie's affection, Letty hugged her back and then insisted she check on her mom to see if she needed anything pressed too.

Letty glanced out the window and saw that Hank was working in the corral and Caleb was helping him. She watched them for a few minutes, both men moving about the corral with the ease of a woman cleaning her house.

She wondered if Hank would be in the wedding, but she wasn't about to ask. Then she wondered if Caleb would be around.

There was entirely too much to be done though to worry about such matters.

Julie burst into her room with a smile on her face. "I don't need a thing pressed, the dress has been hanging in the closet for a month, and looks great. But thanks for asking, honey." Julie smiled.

"Okay, well, I was pressing Kellie's dress and thought I'd check with you. No use all of us ironing at once." Letty laughed. "So, are you ready for this?"

"Oh yes, more than ready. I can't believe you helped me get this going so quickly. I couldn't have done it alone, you know. I mean, all the phone calls you made to make sure everyone got their invitations, all the arrangements you made that takes a lot of time. Oh Letty, I'm so on cloud nine right now, I can't even think straight. I'm nervous, but not because of anyone else, just giddy from all the excitement of it, and how quickly it came together. A lot of my friends from work will be here thanks to you and a lot of Cade's family and friends too."

"You aren't supposed to think on days like this, just feel, and be happy." Letty laughed.

"I am…and I wish this for you too." Julie smiled, holding Letty's hand for a second as they reached out to each other.

"Maybe someday!" Letty asked, "Have you had your bath yet?"

"Yeah, everyone's been in there but you…" Julie cried.

"Good, hope you all left me a little hot water." Letty nodded.

"I wouldn't bet on that. Oh Letty, I'm going to be married today. I'm going to be Mrs. Cade Weston. A few months ago, my life was so different…So many things have changed."

"Do you miss that life?" Letty asked.

"Not one bit." Julie laughed.

"Good. Now…have you eaten?" Letty asked.

"No, but I'm about to go grab a bite, can I bring something up for you?"

"No, I had a bite of sausage earlier. I'm going to finish this ironing then jump in the tub."

Julie nodded and went downstairs.

Letty smiled at how happy Julie and Kellie were. She wished them so much.

She glanced at her Navy dress that Julie helped design for the bridesmaids and smiled. Julie had picked Navy and white as her colors with blood red roses and white baby's breath for her bouquet. The design was unique and lovelier than most bridesmaid dresses but this wasn't her day to shine, it belonged to her sister and she'd do everything she could to make it as wonderful as Julie hoped it would be.

Sandy and Wendy were bouncing around the place, doing little things to help.

"Wow, Cade and Julie," Wendy murmured.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Letty snickered.

Sandy wandered into the room. "Yeah, just a few months ago, Julie was about as removed from this ranch and the people on it, as she could be. Now look! And Cade, honestly, the man never went out with anyone. In fact, Wade seemed worried about him."

Letty's brow twitched. "Yeah, but underneath it all, through all those years, there must have been something going on."

"They hadn't even dated, until she came home…" Wendy protested.

"No…" Letty eyed her. "But they had a daughter together."

Wendy's expression changed and nodded. "Yes, they did…"

Hours later, as the wedding march played, Letty kept looking for her father for some reason to pop out of the bushes and take Julie's hand down the aisle, but that never happened. Instead, a cousin did the honors.

Julie almost shook standing up there by the altar with Cade, and Cade's face was washed with happiness as he spoke the words, "I do."

Letty glanced around for the first time during the wedding to see who all had come and where everyone was, not realizing she was looking for Hank. Her sisters were bridesmaids, and there were cousins everywhere. Wade had been Cade's best man, as Letty expected. A few of the ranch hands had been groomsmen. Back in the back, she saw Hank and her eyes followed him as he moved to sit at the back. When he sat down she saw that Caleb was there too, both looked very nice and despite everything Letty's heart jumped for joy.

Afterwards, there was dancing and eating and Letty kept a close eye on her niece as she headed for Hank and Caleb.

"I'm so glad you came…" She grabbed Hank's arm.

"Wouldn't miss the boss's wedding for anything. They looked very happy." Hank smiled.

"My sister was on cloud nine." Letty laughed.

"She looked lovely," Caleb added.

"Wasn't she gorgeous?"

"Guess you'll be finding someone soon too," Caleb added.

"Oh…I don't know. Maybe…" Letty let that drift away slowly as her shy glance found Hank's.

"You know, from what your dad told me, I didn't think you would be the marrying kind." Caleb shifted his weight and pulled at the tie as though uncomfortable.

"Every woman is the marrying kind, Caleb. It's just that some shop around longer…" Letty laughed.

Hank's glance slid up and down her.

"You certainly look beautiful today," he managed.

"Thank you. And I gotta say, I've never seen either of you two looking better."

"You know, if I had a pretty woman standing here holding onto me, I'd be asking her to dance." Caleb jabbed at Hank.

Hank looked down at Letty. "That's a good idea…Would you do me the honor?"

"Thought you'd never ask…" Letty chuckled.

Caleb nodded and smiled.

Hank's hold on her was light, as though he might be afraid of hurting her.

"So why'd you really quit law?" he asked as though making sure the conversation didn't become personal.

Letty riveted with shock. "Everyone asks me that."

"And your answer is?"

"I don't know for sure. It's just when I came home, I realized I was happy here. I missed being here. It was like my life changed the moment I packed my bags and said goodbye to the University."

"How can you pass such an education up?" he asked.

"I haven't exactly passed it up. I can finish if I want to. It just won't be on a time schedule," Letty insisted. "Did you always want to be a cowboy?"

"Yep. Always!"

"Wow, such a positive answer."

He shrugged and pulled her closer, relaxing against her. "My folks weren't too happy about it. But my grandmother understood. We were from a long line of cowboys. Most of my family though didn't want any part of it. They thought I was nuts for settling as they called it."

"Do you have brothers and sisters?" she asked liking the way he cradled her in his arms and relaxed as though talking about the weather.

"One brother, one sister, both out of state now with big careers and families," Hank informed her.

"And your folks, have they gotten over the fact that this was your chosen profession?"

"My folks died in an car accident, together. I was the youngest. Since my siblings were already grown and moved away, I decided to make my home here."

"So…do you live with your grandmother now?" Letty pulled away from him to look at him in the eye.

"On the weekends, yes."

"On the weekends?"

"Well, during the week I stay at the bunk house, but on the weekends I go home. She's partially blind, so I take her to the store, and church and anywhere else she wants to go."

"That's lovely, and that's where you go on the weekends. I wondered?" she asked. When his head twisted in question, she explained, "Well, I noticed you weren't on the property."

"Oh…"

"I'd love to meet her…sometime." Letty smiled.

"You would?" he asked, startled by her admission.

"Any reason I can't?" she asked.

"Not that I can think of." He pulled her back into his arms.

They slow danced for a long while, neither wanting to find a new partner.

It was Kellie that brought her out of her stupor and insisted she throw the rice.

Rice went everywhere and before long Julie was leaving with her husband. Kellie would be Letty's responsibility for the next week. Letty didn't mind, she had spent a lot of time getting to know Kellie and found the two of them had a lot in common. Kellie loved to ride and her new friend did too.

Hank seemed to disappear after that and Letty didn't see him again until late that evening.

She was walking up from the barn and saw him pulling out to go home, to his grandmother's.

Letty waved, but Hank didn't see her.

That night her and Kellie popped popcorn and talked about their male friends together.

"So, you like Hank?" Kellie asked.

"Let's say I'm interested…" She smiled as she brought the popcorn into the living room and they curled up on the couch, prepared to watch a good movie.

"That's cool. I like Aiden too, only I'm too young to date yet." Kellie frowned. "At least that's what Mom says."

"And she's right," Letty admitted then saw the frown on Kellie's face. "You've got plenty of time to decide who and how you want to date. Aiden is nice, and if he likes you too, you'll know it soon."

"How? How does a girl know when a boy likes her?" Kellie asked, not shy about asking questions.

"Hmmm, well, you can usually tell. If they sit by you every chance they get. If they call and talk to you on the phone. If they go to the same functions you go to. And sometimes they aren't timid and tell you so." Letty laughed.

"Really?"

"Really. You never want to act too anxious though. Play a little hard to get. Not too much, but a little," Letty informed her.

"How do I do that?" she asked innocently.

"You don't jump the first time they ask. Let's just say…he asked you to sit by him in the cafeteria. You hesitate answering. And then give him a 'maybe'. That always gets to them. Makes them try harder to reel you in. Now, if he asks you to a dance, you accept, but on your terms. Like, he'd have to make arrangements to pick you up, most likely with his parents along. At first, at least. He'd have to come inside and meet your folks and explain where he was taking you and that he'd have you home on time, whatever time your parents set that is. Naturally, if you are very young, you won't be out that late, maybe nine or ten depending on if it's a game or something."

"Gee, he's got to do all that?"

"It's the best way to start. As you get older it might not be so old fashioned, but for the next few years, he's got to report to them his intentions. If they see he's doing right by you they might trust him more and you will eventually get to stay out later, do more things and go more places with him. It's all a matter of trust, between him and your parents mostly. This is the best way to start out dating. Sneaking around is never good. Always doing exactly as your folks tell you is best, no troubles that way. Sometimes it is hard, doing what your parents tell you. Sometimes they can be quite controlling in these matters, but it's all for your benefit, remember that. They love you and only want what is best."

"How do you know so much about dating? I haven't seen you date anyone since you been here," Kellie added, grabbing more popcorn.

"Well, I haven't. But I plan to."

"With Hank?" Kellie gave her a sly look.

"Maybe…yes!" She laughed. "If he's interested."

"He hasn't asked you out?"

"No, he hasn't."

"Doesn't he know you like him?" Kellie persisted.

"I'm not sure. And I also don't know if he is interested in me. He may have a girlfriend. Either way, I'd like to find out."

"He seems nice enough. He doesn't get all upset if I brush down the horses or if I want to ride. He helps me with the gear and makes sure everything is safe before I go. I don't know if that's because he doesn't want me getting hurt or he likes kids and wants to see them safe."

"Well, I'm sure it is part of his job, but if he does help you with your gear I'd say he must like kids then. Some cowboys aren't as generous."

"Yeah, I know. There's one, Eugene I think they call him. He tells me to get out of his way all the time. He's not that much older than me though. He's pretty bossy and not very friendly. I tried to be friends with him when we first came here, but he let me know he's not interested."

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to speak to him?" Letty asked.

"Oh, no. He might really get mad at me if you did," Kellie explained.

"Well, if you have any trouble, I mean real trouble with any of them you let me know. I'll talk to them. We are family and I'm here for you, young lady."

Kellie was quiet a moment then she looked at Letty. "I bet you've had plenty of boyfriends, being a model and being so pretty."

"A few…" She looked at Kellie and chuckled.

"I'm still confused. Is there any real way to tell if a boy likes you, Aunt Letty?"

"Sometimes there are. You can tell by their actions, by their words, or by their emotions. Sometimes they follow you around, you know always there. If he really wants you to notice, he might take your hand…ask you to go somewhere with him, show you something special or call you a pet name. Things like that, and maybe when you have dated a bit, he'll try to kiss you. But kissing even though it's enjoyable and nice, it can't go any farther than that. If he really cares about you, he won't pressure you for more…" Letty explained.

"More what?" Kellie asked.

Letty knew now she was in too deep for a young girl and tried to lighten the mood. "Just stick with holding his hand. I'll tell you more as you get older. If Mom doesn't mind. So now, let's put the movie on. I haven't seen Halloween in years, but I love Jamie Lee Curtis and I think this is one of her first movies."

"Okay. But someday…promise me you'll tell me what the more is?"

"Deal!" Letty laughed and handed her the DVD. When you are about sixteen or thirty!

"How old were you when you started dating?" Kellie asked.

"Fourteen, I think. Casual dating, you know going to school dances and football games together and always with his folks or mine."

"Did you want them along?" Kellie's eyes widened.

"Of course not, but if I wanted to date, that was part of it. Your grandfather could be very strict. At the time I didn't appreciate it, but now…let's just say I understand why."

"Am I old enough to date? I mean, what do you think?"

"No…I'd say you are old enough to go to school functions with your parents and sit with your friend, but not date!" Letty turned the movie on and they fell silent. "You see Kellie, just like you wanted your mother and father to want to see each other. You have to gradually become friendly with a boy. Smile at him; be around when he's around. But boys don't know much more than girls about dating at first so don't push too hard. Just let him know you like him in a subtle way."

After a long silence, Kellie wadded her popcorn up in her napkin and turned to look at Letty again. "You think Mom will let me go riding with Aiden if he comes over? He wants to…"

"Maybe if someone goes with you. I doubt she would want either of you out there alone." Letty nodded and squeezed her hand as Jamie Lee Curtis answered the phone on the TV.

"Is that Jamie Lee Curtis…?" Kellie asked.

"Yes, and Michael Myers is after her. Actually…Michael is her brother."

"Her brother…pooh." Kellie shivered. Then after a long pause she added, "If I haven't told you…thanks for staying with me, Aunt Letty. Sandy has a date, and Wendy is helping Wade. I'm glad it's just you and me. I like talking to you. You don't treat me like a kid. I can really talk with you."

Letty squeezed her hand again. "I enjoy you too. I wouldn't have volunteered to watch out for you, but you seem almost self-sufficient. I guess that comes from being on your own a lot, huh?"

"Yeah, but now we're going to be a family. It's gonna be so nice."

Letty smiled. "I'm happy for you, kiddo. But you've got to realize that now instead of one person telling you what you can and cannot do, there will be two. And the best thing you can do is go along with them. Tell me…did you get them together on purpose?"

"Me and Caleb."

"Caleb?"

"Yeah, he's been my friend since we moved here. We curry the animals together, and he talks to me about a lot of things."

"He does?"

"Sure. He likes me. Anyway, we figured up this dating thing. Caleb said that by making them date so far apart, they'd know if they missed each other or not and want to date more regularly. It worked," Kellie admitted.

"He's a wise old bird, isn't he?" Letty frowned.

"Caleb, yeah, I guess so. I like him."

"Me too…I think!" Letty laughed.